Mail-bag catcher.



.-1. e. MI LLER. MAIL BAG CATCHER.

I APPLICATION FILED MAY 5,1916,-

1,2-17 ,'806. Patented Feb. 27, 1917.

ing

JAMES o. MILLER, onrnincnroiv, WEST VIRGINIA.

MAIL-BAG CATCHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 27, 1917.

Application filed May 5, 1916; Serial No. 95,666.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMnsG. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Princeton, in the county of Mercer and State of WVest Virginia, have invented .new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Catchers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is an improved mail bag catcher or mail hook, for use on a mail car for removing mail bags from cranes, as the train passes stations and avoids the necessity of stopping the train in order to receive the mail, one object of the invention being to efl'ect an improvement in the construction of the hook by increasing the length of the arm thereof and thereby enable the mail cranes to be stationed at a suificient distance from the track to provide safe clearance for the locomotive and avoid injury to the engineer or fireman, another object of the invention being to provide improved means for holding and adjusting the hook and greatly facilitating the use of the device in catching a mail bag.

The Invention consists in the features of construction, combination, and arrangement of devices, hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 isa perspective view of a mail bag catcher constructed and arranged in accordance with my invention showing the" same in place on a mail car.

Figs. 2 and 3 are detail views.

In the embodiment of my invention, I provide a shaft 1 which extends across the door opening and is mounted in bearings 2 which are secured on the door facing. The shaft has a diametrically enlarged portion 3 near its rear end and also has a widenedportion 4 which is provided with a transverse open- The metal hook 6 comprises a lever 6 having a handle 11 in line therewith and .at its inner end, an arm 6 at the outer end of the lever arranged at an angle thereto, a bill 9 and a bight 10 connecting the inner end of the bill to the inner end of the arm. The bill, bight, arm, lever and handle are all arranged in a common plane. The lever extends through the opening 5 of the shaft and is mounted on a pivot 7 so that the hook is arranged for annular movement in a plane parallel with the shaft and is also arranged in a common plane with the shaft. The bill 8 of the hook is provided with an extension 9 Which considerably increases the length of the bill and thus gives the mail hook a greater reach to one side of the .mail car and thus enables the hook to catch a mail bag suspended from a mail crane, spaced a suflicient distance from the track'to afford safe clearance with the locomotive and prevent injury to the engineer or fireman should they be looking out of the cab window while passing a station. The mail bag is caught by the hook at the center in the usual Way and lodges in the bight 10 of the hook.

The operation of the mail bag catcher is as follows. When approaching a mail bag which is supported by a crane, the mail man 7 stationed in the car grasps the handle 11 and pushes the same forwardly thereby turning the hook, to the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and causing the hook to bear against the shoulders 12 formed at the diagonally opposite ends of the opening 5, thus putting the strain of operation on the shoul ders and also on the pivot pin 7. The mail man holds the outer end or arm 8 of the hook at the proper height to catch the bag, the shaft 1 turning in its bearings and permitting this to be very readily done, and after catching the bag in the bight of the hook, he then turns the same inwardly to safely land the bag in the car. The shaft 1 is-provided with a snap chock l3 behind the rear bearing 2 and which coacts with the enlarged portion 3 of the shaft to secure the shaft horizontally.

Having described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a mail bag catcher the combination of a horizontally arranged shaft mounted for turning movement and a hook comprising. a lever for manual operation having a handle in-line therewith at its inner end, an arm at the outer end of the-lever arranged at an angle thereto, a bill having an extension at its outer end and a'bight connecting the inner end of the bill to'the inner end of the arm, said lever being pivotally mounted on the shaft for annular movement in a plane parallel with the shaftand arranged in a common plane therewith;

2. In a mailbag catcher, the combination of a horizontally arranged shaft mounted for turning movement and a hook comprising a lever for manual operation and having a handle in line therewith at its inner end,

an arm at the outer end of the lever ar- 7 extension at its outer end and a bight connecting the inner end of the bill to the inner end of the arm, said lever being pivotally mounted on the shaft for annular movement "in a plane parallel with the shaft and arand also having shoulders at diagonally op- 10 positeends of said openings against which the hook bears when in position to catch a mail bag.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature.

J AS. Gr. MILLER. Witnesses:

H. E. DE JARNETT,

N. S. DANGERFIELD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

